Grande Prairie county council advances data centre bylaw, funds food bank building

County of Grande Prairie Council gave first reading to amendments to the Land Use Bylaw that would establish a new Data Centre Campus District at its Oct. 5 regular meeting. Council also approved $142,677 to purchase and install a 14-by-62-foot well-site office building at the Clairmont Food Bank site, and gave $10,000 in emergency operating funding to the Grande Prairie Live Theatre Society to address its 2026 operational deficit.

Council directed administration to invite Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors representatives to a future meeting for an update on highway projects in the county, including the Highway 724 and Highway 43 intersection. A new Policy K14 – Operating Assistance was approved, consolidating funding for facilities and organizations and rescinding the former seniors and accessible transportation grant policy. Council also updated Policy K18 governing recreational use of stormwater ponds, including fire pit rules on pond ice.

Three rezoning bylaws received final reading, redesignating land near Hythe and in the Emerson Trail Industrial Area southwest of Sexsmith for heavier industrial use, following a September 21 public hearing. A fourth rezoning bylaw was deferred pending related Land Use Bylaw amendments. Council also closed a portion of Public Works Road in Clairmont and directed ATCO Gas and Electric Franchise Fees for the Hamlet of Hythe be reduced to zero percent for 2027, while maintaining an additional tax there tied to debt repayment.